Low-profile Bachmann homes in on Minnesota road projects

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, recommitting herself to district work as she tamps down a national Tea Party image, will appear at the state Capitol in St. Paul Monday to support several Minnesota road projects. The Minnesota Republican will headline a press conference highlighting the need to expand Interstate 94 and upgrade Highway 10, both projects in her district. The announcement follows the release of a video this week marking the anniversary of federal legislation green-lighting the planned St. Croix River bridge, a bipartisan effort that represented one of her singular policy successes in Congress. Bachmann's office said she will be joined Monday by other state and local officials and business owners. Democrats in Washington, emboldened by DFL businessman Jim Graves' near upset victory over Bachmann in November, have signaled their desire to focus on her race in 2014.